tricky verbs

– verbs that take a preposition in English, but nothing in French
attendre – to wait, to wait for
chercher – to look for
écouter – to listen, to listen to
regarder – to look at
demander – to ask
payer – to pay (for)
se rappeler – to remember

– à verbs
These verbs are always followed by an à. End of story.
obéir à – to obey
plaire à – to please
renoncer à – to give up, to renounce
ressembler à – to resemble
réussir à – to succeed at (because you always succeed AT something. You don’t just succeed)
échouer à – to fail at (because you always fail AT something. You don’t just fail)
assister à – to attend (at an event)
tenir à – to insist on something, OR to be fond of, to be attached to
apprendre à – to learn to, to teach to
manquer à – to miss (backwards)

– other verbs with other prepositions

remercier de – to thank for (followed by an infinitive)
changer de – to change (clothes, address, etc.)
donner sur – to look out over
appuyer sur – to push (a button, the accelerator, the brakes)
s’occuper de – to take care of, be in charge of, to deal with
se marier avec – to be married to
se fâcher contre – to be mad at
se moquer de – to make fun of
être persuadé de – to be persuaded to, about
être déçu de – to be disappointed about
être désolé de – to be sorry about
être prêt à – to be ready to

– other verbs whose meanings change depending on preposition
parler à – to talk to
parler de – to talk about

penser à – to think about (mind wandering)
penser de – to have an opinion about